Polish Technical Death Metal legends Decapitated released their new album ‘Anticult’ on July 7th, their third effort with Nuclear Blast. Anticult is a groove based metal record that is more compact and to the point than previous releases, something the band were pretty keen on focusing on this time around. Of course the usual blood splattered speedy tracks are still there but those elements are used more sporadically and put to better use. We catch up with guitarist and founding member Waclaw ‘Vogg’ Kieltyka to discuss the new songs and more.
Steve: How’s it going in your camp?
Vogg: Hey man! We are all very well, good chemistry in the the band at the moment. We just got back from the Graspop Festival in Belgium and Hellfest in France and it was a long way because we drove by car 4000 km in four days! Very cool festivals.
Steve: Absolutely! I wish we had something like that in Australia!
Vogg: I think you guys had something in Sydney or Melbourne, I don’t know the name?
Steve: We had Soundwave?
Vogg: That’s the one! Of course in Europe it’s easier because the bands can fly from the US, unfortunately Australia is a long way
Steve: Exactly right. So I just had the pleasure of listening to “Anticult” in it’s entirety and I’m absolutely floored, just the sheer brutality and I know that’s probably an over used word. How do you think it turned out yourself if you were to explain the album to someone just walking in off the street?
Vogg: Well it’s various, lots of different things go on. We connected lots of different styles of metal and lots of different metal riffs, you can find everything. Some thrash parts, some death metal parts, some groovy parts like Slipknot or Slayer, some slower parts, there is a combination of Decapitated’s previous albums in this one so there is also some very melodic parts and I think we really found our style even more then the previous album. This is sounding more like Decapitated, it’s sounding more organic not like some of the other death metal bands around which are very digitized and computer driven. This is a true Decapitated album and I’m very proud of that.
Steve: Absolutely it shines through, especially when you say that it sounds organic. It just sounds really fresh, not over produced or over used – well it just sounds like you guys.
Vogg: Yeah exactly. We are not trying to sound huge, it’s just a tasty mix. I don’t know, I’m just really happy with this album, everything is just one step up a level higher compared with our previous albums.
Steve: Do you have any stand out tracks that stand out to you currently?
Vogg: Yeah I was listening to the album in the car maybe three days ago while driving to the Graspop festival just to check how it will sound after a month or a few weeks because I didn’t listen to it at all. Some songs will go over live really well, I have four tracks I would go for: “One Eyed Nation”, “Kill The Cult”, “Earth Scar” and “Never” in my opinion work really good, perfectly arranged and a little bit better then the rest of the songs somehow. You never know why it just works out that way and for sure we’ll be playing those songs on the up coming tours.
Steve: So what was your inspiration for the album this time? Did you go in with anything in mind? Or did you go in and just hit record?
Vogg: Well when it comes to the sound of this album we wanted it really raw and organic, the real sound of the band and we knew that before we entered the studio and I knew that I will record on my custom Ibanez guitars and EVH amplifiers so I knew what I what to expect. But you never know how the mics will work in the studio but we knew about the basics, how each instrument will sound and where it should go and we did a lot of pre production in my home studio so we got to hear how the riffs are sounding. So we pretty much knew what we have so we just made it better in a professional studio and with producer Daniel Bergstrand and Tomasz Zalewski.
Steve: Great. So at this stage does Decapitated have any plans to head back to Australia? I know it’s a hell of a long way but I for one would definitely love to see you guys live again.
Vogg: We don’t have any confirmed shows for Australia at the moment but we are working on it and we hope to come back in 2018. I’m really looking forward to it, we came with Suffocation (2015) and had a great time. It was a pretty cool tour, the best shows were probably Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. You guys are good strong people with an enthusiasm for life, good food, good weed, good booze, everything. (laughs).
Steve: (laughs) I was lucky enough to catch you guys here in Perth with Misery Index, Origin and Psycroptic.
Vogg: Oh shit! I remember that but we didn’t have that much experience then as we do now with logistics and equipment and stuff like that. I remember it was some really brutal sets playing stuff from “Winds Of Creation”, great memories!
Steve: Awesome! I guess finally I’d like to ask – and I hope I don’t upset you by asking – but I know it’s the ten year anniversary this year of the sad passing of your brother Vitek. Was there some musical homage to him on this album or do you let him live on in his own music?
Vogg: There was nothing on “Anticult” but personally I don’t like too much of this anniversary thing. I mean I always have Vitek in my mind as one of the greatest people I have ever lived with and known, he was my brother and I keep memories of him as one of the nicest guys on drums and even though he was so young, only 23, he was the most metal guy in the band. He was younger then me but older then me, I don’t know how to explain it. Just in the way he did things for people everyday, we may do some type of anniversary show but I’m not really into these type of things. I’m more of an introverted guy so I don’t want to show everyone how I’m feeling, I like to keep these things for myself and deal with these things in my head. You haven’t upset me, hell no. I like to talk about Vitek all the time.
Steve: Some of my favorite albums were partly created by him so I guess it helps to talk about him.
Vogg: Yeah especially all the things he was creating. It’s such a shame, if he was here today he would be one of the greatest drummers in the world. He’s loved all over the world not only as a drummer but also as a human being, he was a legend before his time.
Steve: For sure without a doubt I agree 100 percent. Well Vogg it’s been great speaking with you, I really appreciate your time as I know your very busy and we hope to catch you at some point here in Australia.
Vogg : Thank you man, I really appreciate it. Thanks for the interview and supporting the band. I want to say hello to all the metal fans, I love you guys, take care man!
